The Lone Wolf
by Tassel630
Summary: -Pickup from Zukaddy- "My heart sank through my stomach like a leaden weight, pulling my mood down with it. 'I, uh, met you last night,' I finished lamely. And I fell in love with you last night, too. " OC imprinting story.
1. Chapter 6: Surprises

**A/N: Hey there. Three things to say: **

**One, this is a story I picked up from Zukaddy. If you want to read the first five chapters, I suggest you go there. There are links on my profile. This story has spoilers for that one. (Duh!)**

**Two, I have never tried to write fluff before, so if it totally stinks, I'm sorry.**

**Three, this story is taking place in Bella's and Angela's and Ashton's) senior year. Victoria was killed with Laurent last year. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Angela or Bella or the Cullens or any of those awesome people. They are all owned by the amazing Stephenie Meyer. In fact, I don't even own Ashton, because he belongs to Zukaddy! I am a poor lonely person who owns nothing except the order in which these words were written... :)**

**Enough of my rambling! If you have read this far, you get a cookie!  
**

"I – I'm sorry." Angela looked abashed by her own blunt question and ducked her head in embarrassment, hiding her face behind her long golden hair.

I forced sound out of my throat, wanting her to look at me again so I could see her eyes. "N-no, that's OK. I'm Ashton, I -" I wanted to say that she was beautiful, that I loved her, even. But she barely even knew me, AND she had a boyfriend. My heart sank through my stomach like a leaden weight, pulling my mood down with it. "I, uh, met you last night," I finished lamely. And I fell in love with you last night, too.

"Oh. Right." She turned away to scribble her name on the top of her homework. Shakily I took my seat and watched her. Even her handwriting was beautiful. The letters were clumsy, but they had a uniformity, a style, and her rows were perfectly straight.

Suddenly I heard my name. "Mr. Walker?"

I jumped. "Yes, sir?" I answered, but I didn't take my eyes away from the wingless angel sitting inches from me.

"Would you care to answer my question?" he said impatiently. No, I really would not. In fact, your question can go shove itself up your nose, Mr. I-don't-remember-or-care-about-your-name. But, coward as I was, that's not what I said.

"Uh, what was it? Sir?" My use of the words 'sir' and 'ma'am' had been beaten into me by my mother. It was a habit I wasn't ready to drop.

"Mr. Walker. Would you look at me and _pay attention_, please." I tore my eyes away from Angela to look at him. What an ungodly contrast in appearance. He asked his question again, but I didn't hear it and mumbled an automatic response. Instead, I pictured Angela with wings and a halo. She was more beautiful than ever. It seemed natural on her – she looked so_ right_ –

The bell rang loudly. I watched as Angela stood and left. I followed her blindly for about thirty seconds before I remembered that I was supposed to be going to my own class, not hers. I couldn't remember anything from my talk with the receptionist this morning, so I had to consult my schedule and map before grudgingly heading in the opposite direction.

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I trudged into third period, the last one before lunch, with my thoughts still on Angela. I had absorbed nothing from the previous class. This teacher intercepted me before I chose a seat. She was saying something, and she gestured for me to follow her. I did so numbly and took the seat she led me to.

The class filed in and took seats that were obviously previously assigned. Then she herself walked through the door – the only creature beautiful enough to drive my mental image of her away. I watched her as she took her seat – on the other side of the room. She turned and said something to Bella, sitting next to her, who laughed. My funny Angela...

Suddenly, I gagged on the air. There was a horrible stench on it – a cold, burningly sweet scent, like one would expect from burning an overly sweet plant over icy flames. It stung my nose. I whipped my head around and saw a tiny girl stiffen in the doorway. She was beautiful, in a hard, angular way, with short spiky black hair surrounding her pale face, but she had nothing on Angela. She paused for a moment, then seemed to force herself to walk forward and take a seat in the far corner of the room. She leaned over to the girl next to her, Bella, and whispered something in her ear. Bella glanced up curiously and looked straight at me, sitting ramrod straight in place of her previous slouch.

My hands were shaking and a growl slipped between my teeth. I had been wrong. There _was_ another creature that could stop me picturing Angela. This one. Because even though I had never met one before, my instincts told me everything. This was not a girl. This was a vampire. A vampire who was sitting two seats down from Angela.

I remembered what had happened last time I felt this way: I had phased into a werewolf. I clenched my fists but didn't dare close my eyes to help calm myself down. The vampire could strike at any moment, and I wasn't taking my eyes off of her while Angela was closer to her than I was.

I don't know how I made it through that period. I glared at the tiny lethal beast through the entire class - I didn't even know what subject it was. She didn't look at me, but she was stiff in her seat, obviously as aware of me as I was of her. When the bell finally rang, she hurried fluidly out of the room. Bella stumbled after her, and I quickly drifted closer to Angela in order to protect her if the monster returned.

I trailed her to the lunch room before she noticed me. "Oh – uh, hi. Er – do you want to sit with us today?" she asked timidly. Her voice was beautiful. I nodded silently, and she turned and walked purposefully away. We had only walked ten feet before I realized which table she was heading toward and stopped dead.

There were _two_ of them now, both staring at me with narrowed eyes, their nauseating scent wafting toward me. No way did I want to sit there. But Angela was seating herself beside the female, and I couldn't leave her here. I forced my shuddering body forward and lowered myself slowly beside Angela, but as far from the leeches as I could get.

"Are you okay, Ashton?" Bella asked nervously. She glanced between the vampires and me. I remembered what Jacob had said about her boyfriend. She knew, then. I didn't trust myself to unclench any part of my body including my teeth, to answer her. Letting them just sit there, the female looking frustrated, the male's face unreadable, went against all my instincts. But there was no way I was leaving.

"He's not leaving," the male murmured to Bella, his nose wrinkled. I thought that was obvious. If not for Angela, I would have either attacked or fled long ago. I felt Angela turn around to speak to someone behind us. I nearly threw up as her movement sent more of the scent toward me.

The male raised his eyebrows and glanced intentionally between Angela and myself. I glared at him. I hadn't made it THAT obvious that I was attracted to her, had I? That would put her in danger!

The vampire was moving again, shaking his head. Now I was confused. He smirked and said simply, "I can hear what you're thinking." I felt surprise flit across my face for a moment, but Angela touched my shoulder, stifling all other thought.

"Are you feeling okay?" She looked concerned. "I can show you the way to the nurse's, if you want." Yes! A way to get away from the leeches without leaving her. I snatched it.

"Okay," I forced from between my teeth. I quickly got up and followed her from the cafeteria as fast as possible. As soon as we had passed through the door, I relaxed and breathed in the fresh, non-burning air. We walked in silence for a minute.

"You look better already," she noted.

"Uh, yeah, must've just needed to walk it off," I lied. She was so beautiful, with concern showing in her eyes and her dark blond hair framing her face.

"Do you still want to go to the nurse's?"

"No, that's –"

"Hey, Ang!" I was interrupted. A small Asian boy with glasses was hurrying toward us, looking even shorter from my point of view, and in comparison to Angela, who was very tall as well.

"Oh, hi Ben!" Angela said. "This is Ashton. Ashton, this is Ben, my boyfriend."

The boyfriend. Aha.

**A/N: Thanks to my ****wonderfully splendiferously fantabulous beta Ninja C and to Zukaddy for letting me steal her story! I'll reply to all reviews, if signed, and also look through the stories of the reviewer. :P****  
**


	2. Chapter 7: Wolves

**A/N: Woot! I have six reviews! You guys make me a happy writer! Yays!**

**To HelloSexy: Ben is the only Asian student at Forks High - on the Twilight Lexicon, Personal Correspondence #11, Stephenie Meyer says "Ben Cheney is of Asian descent, with black hair and dark brown eyes. He is 5′7" and wears glasses."**

**To butterfinger45: A beta is basically like an editor. **

**Disclaimer #1: I am not Stephenie Meyer, so I don't own anything. Stephenie Meyer has a life. I got a life for Christmas, but I don't carry it around much because it's heavy.**

**Disclaimer #2: I'm not Zukaddy. So I don't own Ashton either. **

I inspected Ben closely while we were strolling toward our next classes. (Angela and Ben were in Biology II, while I was headed in the direction of government. It was a junior level class, but I had never gotten to it in Texas.)

Ben was small, with traditional dark brown Asian eyes and glasses. His black hair was somewhat similar to the female bloodsucker's, except that his wasn't spiked – just messy. In the five minutes since I had met him, he had never stopped grinning once – although if he was like me, that would just be because Angela hadn't let go of his hand in those five minutes. Angela simply had that effect on people.

Looking at them, their hands twined together, Angela laughing at something Ben had said, I was forced to admit that he was probably a good kid, and very much in love with her. My own hands were shoved in my pockets, and I found myself jealous of Ben's position. But would Angela want me that close to her if she knew what I was? A werewolf. A danger. A freak. I wouldn't tear her away from something she already had – something good and _normal_ – just so that I could have her.

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I crashed face first onto the bed in Jacob's room, having slung my backpack onto the floor. I didn't have any homework, as the teachers had decided to be merciful on my first day. "Tough day?" Jacob asked from the other side of the room, where I knew his bed was positioned. Since he went to the Quileute school, he got home before I did. I grunted in response to his question. "What happened?" he asked sympathetically. I looked up at him.

"It wasn't _all _bad."

"What part was bad, then?"

I stared at him. "Why didn't you tell me there were _vampires_ at that school?"

Jacob swore loudly. "I'd forgotten about the leeches! Did you get close to any of them?" I nodded silently and he swore again. "Come on. We have to go to Sam."

"Who's Sam?"

"He's the alpha of our pack." I stared at him blankly. "You know, the leader?" he continued as if I should know this already. Which, knowing me, I probably should. "Anyway, we were going to see him today anyway, to make sure he'd accept you, but..."

"Why is it so urgent to see him now?" I was thoroughly confused.

"We have a treaty with the Cullens – those bloodsuckers. If you killed one of them, you've broken it." He was racing down the hallway now, hurriedly pulling off his unmatching socks.

"But -"

"How do I know you killed one? You're a new werewolf. You've got powerful instincts and little self control. Obviously you're not dead, so you must've won the fight."

I stopped walking. "I didn't attack any of them."

"You – what?" He turned to stare at me, his shirt pulled partially over his head and one arm sticking out at a strange angle. "How'd you manage that?" I shrugged. "Sheesh," he said, slowly pulling his shirt back on, "I still have trouble sometimes and I've spent time around them." He was staring at me in amazement now. "Seriously, how'd you do it?"

I was sure that part of it was that I had been beaten into submission my entire life - I was good at controlling myself. But I wasn't going to reference my previous life out loud, and I knew there was another reason. "Angela. I was sitting right next to her, and one of them was on the other side. If I had given in to instinct, she would have been hurt." I watched comprehension slide in among the expressions on his face. "She – the short vampire – looked kinda mad, too."

To my surprise, Jacob sniggered. "That would be because she can see the future. Or at least, she can when there's not a werewolf around. It really annoys her when one of us gets in the way. It's pretty funny."

"Oh." I pondered that for a moment. "Bella was there too," I recalled suddenly. "She was giving me weird looks – does she know?"

"Yeah. One of _them_ is her boyfriend, remember?" I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"It must be tough for you – being in love with someone who loves your enemy," I mused.

"Yeah. But _that's_ not as bad now. Not since I imprinted... and it's tough_er _being in love with someone who _is_ your enemy."

"Do you still love Bella?"

He hesitated. "Well – in a way. The same way I did before, I guess. But... imprinting is different. It's... stronger, I guess. And my pull toward Kenz overshadows what I feel for Bella. I still love her as a friend, but... well, you already know it can't compare to imprinting." His face and tone turned bitter. "It's like I'm being torn in half. I've seen Kenz twice since she was bitten, and both times I couldn't decide whether I wanted to kill her or kiss her."

"How can you just sit here?" He looked at me with raised eyebrows, but I pressed on. "Even if Angela was bitten," (I shuddered,) "I don't think I'd be able to just let her leave, even if I had to run away again as soon as I found her." I was having problems resisting the urge to check on her _now_, for crying out loud.

"You think I don't want to?" He was angry, but then he sighed, and the emotion in his face evaporated. "But the pack needs me."

"Surely they can do without you for a while."

He shook his head slowly, staring at the ceiling. "No. We're having... problems. Come on. Sam can explain better than I can."

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Sam was huge. He was extremely tall, even taller than Jacob (who was taller than me even though I was a few months older.) He wasn't thick muscled, but he was obviously very strong. He looked very similar to Jacob, and with a jolt, I realized that I was beginning to look a bit like them too, although my skin was not as dark. He looked about twenty-five, although Jacob told me he was only twenty.

I had been surprised when Sam had accepted me so readily, but when I asked him about it, he merely said, "Of course. You're family." Now he was talking to Jacob. "We're going to have to call the others – "

"Others?" I interrupted. They both looked at me. I reddened but continued. "How many of you guys are there?" I knew there were more than just the three of us, but if there were enough not to call them by name...

"Eight, including you. We're thinking you should meet them now."

"Uh... okay." I'd been here for less than a day and I had already imprinted, seen vampires for the first time in my life, and now I was going to be meeting five more werewolves. All in all, a somewhat hectic twenty-four hours.

I followed them outside, and they both pulled off their shirts and walked in opposite directions. "Uh... what are you doing?" I asked, feeling stupid.

"Phasing," Jacob said, looking at me quizzically over his shoulder.

"Uh, guys? I've only ever done it once before... I can't exactly do it on command..." They both stared at me.

"Right," Sam said finally. "We'll take the car then. Hang on, I'll be right back." He jogged away into the forest.

"What's he doing?" I asked Jacob, who had returned to the driveway, where I stood.

"Calling the others," Jacob said, as an earsplitting howl echoed from the trees. It would have been a mournful sound to anyone who didn't recognize it for what it was, but I heard the call it contained.

"Will they know where to find us?"

"Yeah, we have a designated meeting spot."

"Oh." A few minutes passed, and then Sam jogged back out, and we all clambered into the car. Jacob called shotgun, so I squished myself into the back seat. I may have been the smallest, but I was still no pixie.

It was a short, silent ride. We stopped on a small, muddy road in the middle of the forest, and I pried myself out of the tiny car. One guy was already standing there waiting for us, and he was quickly joined by four others.

"This is Ashton." Sam got right to the point. "He's Jacob's cousin, and since he's living here now, he's joining our pack. Ashton, this is Jared-" he gestured to the first boy, who smiled and nodded his head in a friendly way, "Paul-" a boy who looked sort of mean, except that he was grinning, "Embry-" a skinny boy took a hand out of his pocket and waved shyly, "Quil" a shorter, muscular boy with a confident laugh shook my hand, "and Leah." She was the only one who didn't smile. She looked distant, and she returned to staring at nothing after she inclined her head toward me. She was exotically pretty except for the way that she set her jaw, as though she was angry, or holding herself back from something. She was also the only one who wasn't taller than me, although she was pretty close. There went the reputation I had in Texas for being the biggest kid around.

"Hey," I muttered in response to their introductions, looking down and scuffing the ground with my foot.

"So, Ashton," Sam said purposefully, "We've got a problem. Did Jake – ?" He looked toward Jacob, who shook his head. "Alright, here's the deal. Long story short, the Cullens left Bella here for a while last year, and we had two bloodsuckers come through looking for her, a male and a female. We cornered and killed them both.

"Since the Cullens came back, we've exchanged information and figured out that one of those two had a mate up north. She - I think her name is Irina - wanted revenge on us for destroying him, but her coven is friendly with the Cullens, and because of the treaty, they wouldn't let her come after us." His expression darkened. "As near as we can tell, she decided she wasn't going to give up that easily, even though she couldn't come at us directly. She apparently went to the vampire royalty of sorts – they're called the Volturi – and told them that there were humans here who knew everything about vampires and werewolves, which is against their rules."

"But there aren't," I said puzzled. "We haven't told anyone."

"If you imprint on someone, you're allowed to tell them." Great, so I was allowed to tell Angela. But would she want to know? She was happy now. She wasn't likely to have a favorable reaction if some new kid who was abused for half his life came up to her and told her that myths exist and that she needed to run away with him because of some weird wolfy connection.

"So now they're after us." I pulled myself back to Sam's words. "They've threatened that either we kill everyone we have imprinted on, or they'll step in and do it for us."

"What!?" I shouted. "No way! There's no way we – "

Sam interrupted me. "Of course we're not. Jared, Jacob, Quil and I have all imprinted – although they're not going to care about Jacob's imprint-ee since she kind of knows anyway – and by your reaction, I'd guess you have too." I nodded. "So we know how you feel. There's no way we're going to let that happen. The problem comes in their strength. There are fourteen permanent, very powerful members, plus many more disposable ones. They all have special abilities, and their numbers most likely triple ours. And we can't ask the Cullens to get involved against their own... rulers, I guess."

"So we can't spare anyone," Jacob muttered.

Sam ignored him. "Ashton, before I ask you to formally join the pack, you're going to have to know that we're fighting a big battle here, and the odds are against us. Since you didn't grow up here, you're not obligated to participate, but if you join us, I'm going to have to ask you to fight."

They all looked at me solemnly, and I realized that I had a choice that none of them had. After hearing that they were essentially fighting a losing battle, I was sorely tempted to give in to cowardice and leave the state. But Angela was one of the people these vampires were targeting. I wasn't leaving her to face that, alone and unknowing.

I looked up into Sam's grave face and said the bravest, and stupidest, thing I had ever said in my life.

"I'll join."

**So, waddya think? Remember, Victoria died last year - it's Irina that hates the pack for destroying Laurent! ****And note: ASHTON IS NOT IMMUNE TO VAMPIRE-KILLING INSTINCTS. He just has unusually good self-control, and he would have attacked if he gotten much closer or if one of them made a threatening move.**

**Do my poll! What color wolf should Ashton be?  
**

**Thanks again to Ninja C for being my beta! You wrock**!** XD Also thanks to butterfinger45 for looking over this chapter! **

**As always, I can't respond to reviews, but I can promise that I ALWAYS look through the stories of all my reviewers! Review and help me improve this story!**


	3. Chapter 8: Adjusting

**A/N: A HUGE thank-you to everyone who reviewed and did my poll! It's still open if you haven't: What color wolf should Ashton (mainly) be? I need more feedback!  
**

**Italiangurlinamessedupworld: Thank you for catching my mistake! I've fixed it now.**

**xedwardxxloverx: I know that there are ten in the pack, but this is before Eclipse, so Seth, Collin, and Brady haven't joined yet.**

**Note: I have found two plot errors in this story. First, I recently discovered that Seth became a wolf at the same time as Leah. (I assumed that she changed first since she's older.) So he's going to be joining the pack VERY SOON. Second, I realized that Ashton was originally fifteen. However, Jacob is sixteen and a junior, and since Ashton is a senior, he has to be older. So now Ashton is magically seventeen. He must have started school young. Forgive me for my inconsistencies!**

**Disclaimer #1: Yes, I am the absolutely amazing Stephenie Meyer and I own Twilight. Oh wait, I just woke up.**

**Disclaimer #2: Do you really think I would try to claim to be Zukaddy when she actually reads this story? I'm not THAT stupid... usually. **

"Great," Sam said with a grim smile. "Alright. We're just getting ready to switch patrols. Jared, Leah, Paul, you can go home. Quil, Embry, and I are taking the next shift."

"What about me?"Jacob asked, sounding surprised. "You were on the last patrol - I thought I was going."

"Let me finish!" Sam scolded, sounding entertained with Jacob's impatience. "You're going to help Ashton get used to phasing. The two of you, Jared, and I are going to take the shift after this one." He, Quil, and Embry set off into the forest.

"See you, Jake, Ashton," Jared said. Leah and Paul had already departed silently.

"Ash," I corrected, grinning tentatively at him. He grinned back, waved, and jogged after Paul.

"Time for training!" Jacob said with mock enthusiasm.

"Training?" I asked, nervous despite his joking.

"Nah, not really. It's mostly instinct. Like Sam said, you just need to get used to phasing. I know you've done it before, but usually the first time you're too confused to learn much. Okay. When you're learning, you just need to make yourself really mad. No, not now!" he added hastily, seeing my concentration. "Do you want to blow your pants off? Well, then you get this sort of red haze, and you start shaking. Eventually you'll be able to skip straight to that part without purposely making yourself angry. All you have to do then is to let the tremors basically rip you apart."

I flinched, and he amended, "It's not that violent – it doesn't hurt. That's just the only way to describe it... Alright, I'm going over there, and I'm going to phase, too. Don't forget to undress first!" he called over his shoulder as he strolled into the trees.

_Okay, Ash. You can do this. It's no big deal. You've done it before._ "Sure," I mumbled to myself. "Just rip myself apart and turn into a giant wolf. No problem at all." I took a deep breath and focused on Jacob's instructions. I removed my shirt, shoes, and pants, and heard an impatient whine to my right. Jacob must have already phased – he was waiting on me. I took another steadying breath and cast my mind around for something that made me angry. It landed on the incident at school (was that only this morning?) when I was afraid the leeches were going to hurt Angela. I tried to recall the feeling; the shaking, the fury.

I stood, focusing, for several minutes. I remembered the disturbingly graceful way they walked, the female stiffening as she caught my scent, the male's face as he had glanced deliberately between Angela and me. As Jacob had said, my vision turned red and I began to tremble. Automatically I tensed, trying to hold my shape together, but I recalled the icy, burning scent, and I felt my body explode.

I felt like pieces of me were flying outward, expanding from the center of my body as if I had been blown apart – which, I supposed, I had. Surely Jacob would have to come and pick up all the little Ashton-pieces. White cloth blasted into the air. Suddenly, though, I seemed to hit an invisible barrier; my body parts were no longer being flung away, and I had defined edges. The whole terrifying thing had lasted less than a second.

I was several feet higher off the ground, and I felt more powerful, although somewhat uncoordinated. I lifted a foot – paw – tentatively. The wind rustled in the trees. I could place every living thing nearby by either smell or sound. I sniffed one of the pieces of white cloth. It smelled like feet. _Oops. Must've forgotten to take off the socks._

_Finally!_ I heard Jacob's voice in my head, and I let out a yelp of surprise and looked around. A huge, shaggy, reddish-brown wolf was emerging from the shadows. _Took you long enough._

"What are you doing inside my head?!" I tried to scream, but instead I make some sort of whine-grunt hybrid noise.

_You don't have to try to say things out loud. It makes annoying and unnecessary noise. Didn't you know that?_ The wolf – which I knew was Jacob by the smell – cocked his head at me.

_Did I know what?! That you could mess around with my head?! I've had enough of that for one day, thanks!_

_That bloodsucker, _Jacob growled. His lips pulled back over his teeth and I caught a stream of angry mental images of the male vampire. _Well, we can all hear each other when we're wolves. We must've been between patrols the first time you changed, or you'd have heard us in your head._

_That far away?_

_Well, we've tested up to three hundred miles, and it hasn't started to fade yet._

Suddenly I felt another consciousness burst into being, followed by two others, their minds pressing against mine. I shrank back from them, but Jacob's thoughts shouted, _No! You're going to have to get used to it or you'll phase back. And trust me, you don't want that until I've left._

I could tell, through the patrol, that they had reached the vampire-werewolf border. _Quit messing around,_ Sam instructed._Keep practicing. Try phasing back now._ I recoiled from the vampire scent that Embry was sniffing with distaste. I could see, through their eyes, that they were moving farther away, but their thoughts did not fade.

Jacob showed me the sensation of retreating within myself, mentally and physically, that was required to become human again. He returned to his own clearing to do so.

_Leaving us already, are you?_ Quil teased.

_Shut up._ Jacob was beginning to fade.

I tried to withdraw my mind from the patrol, ignoring the sensation of the wind rustling through fur, and their minds began to fade...

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_Can they quit already? _Quil complained to Sam. _They've been popping in and out for an hour! It's getting really annoying! _Embry laughed inside his head.

_We're almost done with our patrol, _Sam informed us, ignoring Quil. _I'll meet you back there – stay where you are. _Quil and Embry's consciousnesses began to fade.

Jared's voice suddenly joined us. _Hey guys, can you meet me here?_

_We already ARE here, Jared. _Jacob looked around so that Jared could get a detailed view of our position. Jared was only a few hundred feet away.

_Oh._ Jared sounded sheepish. Sam mentally rolled his eyes.

A large brown wolf bounded from the forest and whacked at Jacob playfully with one paw. Both of their tails began wagging furiously as Jacob batted enthusiastically at Jared's ear – and sent him flying. _Idiots, _Sam thought, amused, as they continued to tussle. He was getting closer. I bark-laughed as Jacob managed to pin Jared, but a gigantic black wolf, the biggest I had seen so far, raced out of the trees, barreling into Jacob and pinning him, his waving tail hitting Jared in the face as he passed. Ignoring this, Jared leapt up and jumped after me. I hesitated, and he pushed me to the ground. _Ha._ I twisted under him and managed to throw him off.

_Enough._ Sam was panting and laughing. _Come on._ We followed him, falling into line – Jacob was second, followed by Jared, then me.

I saw a squirrel scurrying up a tree and snapped at it spiritedly, but my teeth closed on Jared's tail instead. He promptly turned and tackled me blithely. _Guys. COME ON._

_Oops, _I apologized. _Sorry, Sam. _We reluctantly turned and traipsed after him.

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I sat down by Angela at the lunch table, automatically steadying myself. I managed not to shake at all, despite the leeches sitting feet away. It was Friday now – it had taken me five torturous days subjecting myself to their horrible scent, both in school and on patrols, to become as relaxed around the bloodsuckers as I was now. Jacob said I had it easier because I had no time to develop a prejudice against vampires before I was exposed to them. He had assured me that these two wouldn't attack anyone, although I was still wary of letting Angela get too close to them.

I had been formally introduced to them – their names were Edward and Alice – as well as everyone else at the table. Ben, Bella, and Angela, of course, I already knew, but there was also Mike, who practically drooled over Bella, Eric, who did the same even through his girlfriend, Katie, was sitting right next to him, and Jessica who had recently decided that I was more interesting than her food and had taken to staring at me dreamily rather than eating. It was a bit frightening – apparently she got a crush on every new male that entered the school.

Angela was as beautiful as ever. I was grinning stupidly at her (even though her willowy frame was turned toward Ben) with my chin resting on my hand. I felt a familiar wave of guilt. There were several reasons for that disgrace. She was being hunted by vampires. She didn't know it. It was my fault. I was one of the only people who could protect her, and yet I was the one who put her in danger in the first place. How did we know when they were coming? Coming for _her_? How could I protect her against an enemy with centuries of hunting experience, an enemy born to live in the shadows, an enemy that might already be here? I shivered at the thought.

Someone kicked my chair. I yelped and leapt backward as icy skin brushed, ever so lightly, against my leg. I landed on my feet, but just barely, staggering into the table next to us. A blond girl gave me a scandalized look.

_What was that for?! _I thought angrily at the bloodsucker as I grabbed my fallen chair. I knew he would hear.

"They're not here yet," he said, so quietly that only someone sitting next to him (Bella) and people with exceptionally good hearing would understand him.

I glared at him. _And why should I believe that?_

"Alice would see them coming, even if she wouldn't see what happened once they got here and started interacting with you. And you can bet that Bella won't be here when that does happen."

My stomach turned cold, and I vaguely registered Bella engaging him in an argument. He had said when. _When. _It was going to happen. Angela was safe now, but she was going to be hunted.

Soon.

**A/N: Unfortunately, the next chapter is going to take a while to post. It's going to be a really hard chapter to write - probably the hardest thing I've ever written. Forgive me if it takes a while. **

**Ninja C makes this story better! Because beta rhymes with better!**

**Review! I'll look through the stories of all my reviewers after I finish buying Ashton some new socks! **


	4. Chapter 9: Danger

**A/N: Okay, here's chapter nine. This chapter is dedicated to those nine people who did my poll! It's closed now - go see what color won! I have some pictures of Ashton up on my profile now! Speaking of my profile, there is also a running update on how close the next chapter is to being done. **

**Disclaimer #1: Don't own Twilight, nor do I own the slightly altered Eclipse quote used in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer #2: Zukaddy owns Ashton. Period. End of story. Except for when you pick up the story. XD  
**

The alarm clock went off on Saturday morning in the room I shared with Jacob. I shoved my face into my pillow, groaned, and threw my hand in the direction of the clock; it connected, sending the clock flying across the room. The noise that had woken me up, however, sounded again, and this time I realized that it wasn't the alarm clock. A wolf was howling.

I still wasn't awake enough to realize that I should care about a howling wolf, so I rolled over and tried to ignore it. Unfortunately, I rolled the wrong way and fell out of bed, dragging the blankets that I was on top of with me.

"Oof!" I hit my head on the small table beside my cot. I fell forward, trying, in my sleep-befuddled state, to lie down again, and landed face first in the remains of the alarm clock. A sharp edge dug into my cheek.

"OW!" I yelled, jumping up clumsily and holding my hand to my cheek. It was bleeding, but not as much as it should have been. I didn't have time to ponder that, however, because I staggered backward and somehow managed to hit Jacob's bed, fall, and sit on his face.

"Emmgfpee!" He shoved me, and I sprawled across the dark floor, bruised but thankfully stationary. "Clumsy much?" Jacob mumbled as a third howl echoed. "That's Sam," Jacob muttered drowsily, voicing what I had just recognized. We pulled on cutoff jeans in the dark, stumbled outside, and dragged ourselves in opposite directions. I put my hand to my cheek – it had stopped bleeding altogether. It was only then that I remembered about wolves' healing rate.

I undressed and checked my feet (I hadn't forgotten my socks once since that first time), folding the clothes and tying them loosely to my ankle – a trick I had learned from Jacob. I concentrated for a few moments - I still wasn't very quick at phasing, and it was harder when I was tired – and managed to induce the shivers before blowing myself apart.

I lifted my light tan paws and took off through the now-familiar forest. The air, already bitingly cold, would have quickly frozen any human, rushing past like it was. I didn't feel the cold anymore. Barely a sliver of moon shone from between the clouds, but I could see through the darkness easily. I was fast enough that any fallen leaves barely crunched under my paws.

_Wait for me_, I complained to Jacob, who was running ahead. I didn't hear Sam – he must have phased back. Embry joined us, his lethargic thoughts barely coherent.

_What's going on? _Quil's voice asked, yawning.

_Dunno_, Jacob responded apathetically. The combined sleepiness was oppressing.

Leah joined the pack-mind, determinedly thinking about a strangely shaped cloud. She must have been thinking about something she didn't want us to hear before she shifted.

_I was not! _she hissed. I caught an involuntary image of a howling black wolf before she smothered it with thoughts of a branch that brushed along her side.

I was drawing close to the meeting place now, so I slowed to find a place to shift back. I did so quickly (phasing from wolf to human was easier for me than from human to wolf), dressed, and jogged toward the clearing.

Sam was pacing with his hands held behind his back along the tree line on the other side of the road. He was barely visible in the shadows, but I could see he was holding a newspaper. Jacob was leaning against a tree, his eyes closed. Quil and Embry stumbled out of the forest one after the other, Quil with his pants on backwards. Slowly the entire pack filtered in sluggishly. Sam and Leah seemed to be the only ones fully awake.

"We're going to be doubling patrols," Sam said quietly, drawing closer to the rest of us. Paul made a stifled noise of complaint. Sam ignored him. "Look at this," he said, his voice still neutral. He spread several newspapers on the muddy ground. There was one from Virginia, one from North Carolina, two from West Virginia, and one from Kentucky. Each was dated within the last two days and had a small news article about deaths or disappearances.

"They're coming. From the east. They know we'll recognize the signs. They're trying to scare us into surrender." I clenched my teeth, my need for sleep quickly dissipating. The powerful instinct to protect that was growling in my chest was clearly mirrored in Sam's eyes, despite his calm voice. There was something more there, though – the desire to defend with his life, but also the desire to hunt. "Ashton, Leah, Paul, you're on patrol now. Quil, Jacob and I will take the next shift, then Embry, Jared, and Paul."

I nodded once and sprinted into the trees. I stripped quickly and phased. It came more easily then than it ever had before. I met up with the light gray and black and silver wolves and we raced off together.

I was withdrawn enough that, under normal circumstances, I would have unintentionally phased back by now, but there was too much wolf instinct coursing through me to allow me to return to my human form. They're coming, Sam had said. They're trying to scare us. Scare us into surrender. _Never_, I growled to myself. I had dragged Angela into this chaotic world of myths. Never would I abandon her here to be slaughtered. I had a duty to her now.

_They could be here in five days, _Sam thought. He had shifted again so that he could return home. _Probably sooner, if they're intentionally moving slowly to inflict fear._

An unfamiliar mind abruptly erupted into being, its alarm and confusion infecting all of us. I stopped, shuddering as the alien thoughts thrashed in panicked bewilderment. Whoever it was was not attempting to restrain their mind in any way.

_Seth! _Leah exclaimed, sounding shocked. Sam, who apparently knew exactly what was going on, began soothing the terrified new wolf.

_Who's Seth? _I questioned Leah.

_He's my little brother. I made him kind of mad when I wouldn't tell him where I was going, and then I guess Mom must've said something..._ she replied, sounding more shaken than I had ever heard her before – most of the time I met cold indifference. She heard me think that, but didn't comment. She was helping Sam explain to Seth what was going on. Sam had met up with him now, and was instructing him on how to phase back. Slowly, slowly, Seth's mind faded, and Sam followed suit.

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I staggered into first period on Monday. I had never been more tired in my life. Sam had doubled ALL patrols, including night ones. The only sleep I could get was snatched in one-hour increments. I put my face on the cool tabletop and closed my eyes.

Angela came in and sat down next to me. I knew it was her even though I couldn't see her. I opened my eyes.

"Are you okay?"

_I am now. _"Yeah, I'm just really ti-ti-tired," I said, yawning and trying to brush off her concern. I didn't deserve it.

She looked unconvinced, but didn't pursue the subject. The teacher came to our table and asked for our homework. Angela handed hers in; I stared stupidly at the man. I think he must have taken that as a no, because he moved on to the next table.

The rest of the morning passed in a bleary-eyed blur, possibly because I had slept all the way through second and third period. I sat in the back in second period; as for third, I wasn't so lucky, and now I had an official warning. In my second week of school. Wonderful.

It was a good thing I could follow Angela to lunch, because I probably would have gotten lost otherwise. I was essentially sleepwalking, but even so, I could follow Angela anywhere. I automatically braced myself for the vampire scent, but it was very faint. I opened my half-closed eyes and looked around. Neither bloodsucker was there. Bella was missing as well. I didn't understand it. It wasn't sunny out today...

Then I remembered his words. _You can bet Bella won't be here when it does happen... _They were getting closer. Close enough that other vampires had decided it was time to flee. Sam hadn't misread the signs, as so many of us had vainly hoped. Three days had passed since he had shown us the newspapers. Only two days left... I remembered the newspapers we had looked at this morning. Kansas. Nebraska. South Dakota. Wyoming. Danger drawing ever-nearer.

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I shuffled toward Jake's house to wake him up. It was 5:00 in the morning, and he was on the next shift. I grabbed the newspaper on the way in and opened the door as quietly as I could.

I threw the paper onto the table and blundered in the direction of Jacob's room, then did a double take. I stared at the newspaper headline.

**Double killing in Seattle – Police stumped by lack of clues**

I crashed into the door, fumbling with the doorknob in my panic, and flew into the night. I raced for the meeting place where I had just left Sam. I was halfway there before I realized I had four legs – for the first time, I had shifted without thought. I didn't care right now, though. I heard Sam in my head, heading for the same place I was. _Sam! _I bellowed in my thoughts. I skidded to a stop on the muddy road. _Sam! They're here! It was in the newspaper! There was a –_

_I know, _he interrupted. _The Cullens contacted me. They've requested that the Volturi stop hunting in their 'territory'. So the Volturi are backing off for a while. But they've also sent a message of their own: they're giving us one week. They're not feeding until then, but if the week is up and we haven't surrendered, they're attacking._

_They're not feeding UNTIL then?! Then we're going to have to attack BEFORE then so that they don't kill anyone else!_

_I know. And they'll anticipate that. _He sighed out loud. _Go back and wake up Jacob, and get some rest yourself._

_But –_

_GO. They're not going to attack now. You've had three hours of rest in the past two days. We're going to lessen patrols, just slightly. Sleep._

I knew he was right, so I wearily turned and hauled my muddy self back through the woods. It took me much longer to return to the house than it had taken leaving it. I was only half awake now, and suddenly found myself in Jacob's darkened room. I pulled some clothes over my dirty body.

"Jake?" I mumbled.

"Hhhmmm?" he slurred.

"Get up." Hoping he had heard me and would comply, I flopped onto my cot and was unconscious within seconds.

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For the first time in four days, I woke up naturally. I looked out the window. It was either morning or evening. The clock informed me that I had slept for thirteen hours. I heard Jacob snoring from the other side of the room. I sat up, and realized that I had gotten mud all over the sheets. _Whoops. _I quickly stripped the cot and threw the sheets into the laundry, then walked into the kitchen. The newspaper was still on the table. I picked it up.

**Double killing in Seattle – Police stumped by lack of clues**

**Two bodies were discovered by Seattle policemen on the outskirts of the city last night.**

**The bodies, which were located with the aid of the K-9 unit, were both mangled, charred, and were not attempted to be hidden. No evidence was found at the site other than the bodies themselves.**

**The bodies were eventually identified as Joe Miller and Ben Cheney.**

I dropped the newspaper, horrified, not even bothering to finish reading the article. Ben. Little Ben. Little Ben who made Angela so happy. Who hugged her and held her hand and helped her and supported her and made her laugh and kissed her and loved her... He was normal for her. Funny, happy, sweet, thoughtful, energetic little Ben. He wouldn't have even seen it coming. He had probably been strolling down a street, laughing to himself, or pondering something, or thinking about Angela, never suspecting, just being happy, lively little Ben... and then he wasn't. Someone had taken that from him. From Angela. He had parents and friends and hopes and plans and memories and futures and thoughts and Angela. His own personal Angel. Not even given a second thought. All that meant nothing to some thoughtless monster, who took that away because of_thirst_. My hatred of vampires was renewed, and now I knew what I had seen in Sam's eyes four nights ago. I wanted to kill them, for what they did, for causing pain on so many people.

Angela would be hurting. I had to see her. I ran outside, fury giving me strength, and clambered into Jacob's car.

When I arrived at her house, I hesitated at the front door and knocked slowly. It took a long time for someone to answer, although I could hear her twin brothers screaming, "Daddy! Daddy, there's someone at the door!" Finally her father opened it.

"I'd like to see Angela, if that's okay," I said softly. He must have realized why I was there from the pain on my face, because his expression became sad and kind at the same time.

"Of course," he said, just as quietly. "But she's not very..."

"I know." He let me in and gestured down the hallway on the right. All the rooms were darkened with their doors open except one. I pushed that one open.

Angela was sobbing into her mother's shoulder, beautiful even with her hair tangled and pajamas tousled. Her mother looked up at me, her eyebrows drawn together in sorrow. "Would you like to sit with her for a while?" she whispered. I nodded and sat down on her other side, putting my hand on her shoulder. Mrs. Weber slowly got up and exited, presumably to satisfy her sons' cries for dinner, at which point Angela turned to cry into her knees.

I wanted to kill whoever it was that had caused her this pain. An angel didn't deserve to hurt this much. I wished I could put myself between her and the source of her misery. A creature as divine as her deserved nothing but happiness, and someone had dared to spill her tears.

I took her into my arms and cradled her, and she turned her head and continued to weep into my chest.

**Yes, hate me. Flame me. I deserve it. I really, truly hate myself for having to write that. But now I know what people mean when they say they have no control over their story. This has been set in stone since I first considered picking up this story. I've argued with the storyline many times. (Yes, I talk to my plot.) It was a very stubborn storyline. I've been trying to convince it to change for three weeks. It won't listen. It is evil, but there's nothing I can do about it. It makes me cry, because I absolutely ADORE Ben. He is the sweetest kid ever. So I hate myself for writing that. **

**Ninja C was gracious enough to beta this story even though she hates the evil plot and screamed at it for ten solid minutes.**

**Review if you forgive me. Or if you hate me almost as much as I hate myself. **


	5. Chapter 10: Uncertainty

**A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry this chapter took so long to post, but I needed a break after that last chapter. It really hurt me to write that, and it took me a while to be able to look at this again.**

**And a note about that last chapter: That did NOT occur just to 'get rid of Ben'. The Volturi were always going to go hunting in Seattle... and Ben was buying a martial arts movie there... and... and... excuse me while I go collect myself.**

**And I've had many questions about this: This is a post New Moon fic. Collin and Brady have not joined the pack yet. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer #1: Je ne suis pas Stephenie Meyer. (I am not Stephenie Meyer.)**

**Disclaimer #2: Je ne suis pas Zukaddy. (Je suis Tassel! Ou Tassel630!)**

Angela wasn't at school the next day. I didn't expect her to be, but all the same, it was difficult for me, not being able to see her and know that she was safe, especially with so much danger imminent. The Cullens (and Bella) still didn't show up, but this I expected, too. It was as if I had read the ending of a tragic story first, and now I was just waiting for the characters to die off. _But that won't happen in real life_, I thought fiercely. _No one else is going to die. _It hurt to think, "no one _else_."_Not before we do, anyway._ I smirked without humor; I had picked up on the pack plural.

I didn't even head back to Jake's house after school, preferring to hurry straight to Angela's and make sure she was okay. Her father let me in without question. Her brothers were busy making a mess of the kitchen table in the process of eating a snack. Her mother was at the sink.

I turned down the hallway silently. Angela's door was open this time. She was sitting one her bed again, but not crying. Her knees were drawn up to her chest, and she was rocking backward and forward, staring into space. "Angela?" I asked tentatively. I hadn't heard her voice in so long...

"Hi, Ashton," she said dully, without looking at me. I wanted to cry, hearing how much concealed pain was in her voice. The now-familiar urge to kill the perpetrator of that pain bubbled up inside me again, but I was more focused on the heartbroken angel. I didn't know what to say to her. My loss was nothing compared to hers, but her agony echoed inside of me. I hurt for Ben, and I hurt for her anguish for Ben. I sat on the edge of her bed and put my hand on her shoulder, just so she would know I was there.

She jumped, looking at me for the first time, and I quickly drew my hand back. "Sorry," I mumbled.

"No, it's fine, it's just – " she picked up my hand to test the temperature, and then held it to her cheek. I didn't have time to enjoy this, though. "Jeez, Ashton, you're burning up!" She seemed to be trying to distract herself from the grief. "I thought maybe my hands were cold. Are you running a fever?"

"Uh, no. High body temperature sort of runs in my family," I said awkwardly.

"Are you sure? Your skin is really hot..."

"Yeah, I'm positive," I assured her. "It's always like that." There was an awkward silence while we stared at each other. I assumed she was trying to figure out if I was lying. _It wasn't _really _a lie_, I reasoned with myself. But I hated keeping things from her. I hated lying to her, even if what I had just said was mostly true. I wanted to tell her everything. She was the only thing holding me here – to this room, to this town, to this earth. Shouldn't she know exactly _what_ she was holding?

"No," I said out loud, abruptly changing my mind. "No, it hasn't always been that hot."

"Do you want me to take your temperature?"

"No," I said hastily, "I mean – it's always that hot _now_ – it just wasn't always like that." Said skin temperature rose even higher with embarrassment. _Great job, Ash, _I thought sarcastically to myself. _You can really string two words together. _

Angela looked very confused. I took a deep breath, and internally confirmed my decision. "I... uh... I can, uh..." I searched for a word to describe the phase. "I can... um... I can... explode." I said the first word that came to mind to communicate the sensation and immediately regretted it. She raised her eyebrows.

"You can... explode," she repeated, obviously even more confused than before.

I let out my breath. "Yeah. Into... into a wolf."

She rolled her eyes, still smothering her pain with concern. "Ha ha, Ashton. I still think you should see a doctor." Seeing my eyebrows draw together, she added, "I'm serious."

My heart sank. This was going to be difficult – she didn't believe me. "_I'm _serious." She looked confused again. "I..." I let out my breath all at once. "I really can... turn into a wolf. I know you don't believe me – " I held up a hand as she opened her mouth to say something. "Please, at least let me finish before you decide that I'm crazy.

"There are nine of us. You would call us werewolves." I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to see her glorious face if she was horrified. I plunged on. "Sam, Jared, Paul, Quil, Embry, Leah, Seth, and Jacob." I heard her gasp softly. Guessing what she was thinking, I nodded, my eyes still shut. "Yes, Bella's friend Jacob. Bella knows about us. She figured it out last year. That's why we all have high body temperatures, and we're all really big." I sighed and peeked at Angela with one eye. She was staring at me, her eyes wide and uncertain. I shut my eye again.

"I'm mangling this story. We should go talk to Billy." I opened my eyes (but didn't look at her), stood, and walked to the door in two long strides. "I mean – " I turned around uncertainly in the doorway. "If... if you want to." She stood up slowly and took a few steps toward me before I turned and kept walking, now sure at least that she was following.

"Mom?" Angela called from behind me as we walked up the hallway. Her voice shook slightly. "I'm going to La Push with Ashton, okay?" Her voice broke on my name, but when I looked at her, her eyes were clear.

Her mother appeared from the kitchen, looking surprised. She blinked several times, and I leaned against the door. "Okay..." Angela's mother said hesitantly. I left the house, and stopped on the driveway.

"Er... can you drive yourself? I came on the motorcycle," I called over my shoulder. She nodded mutely, and I hurried away so that she could collect herself.

I rode more slowly than I normally would have done, so that she could follow me. The rain was coming down hard, and by the time we got to the house, I was soaked, although by no means cold. I pulled the bike to the makeshift garage beside Jacob's rabbit.

When I returned to the house, Angela was leaning against it beside the front door with her eyes closed. She was breathtaking with raindrops shining in her golden brown hair. I opened the door and stepped inside.

Billy was reading the paper at the kitchen table. "Is Jake home?" I asked him. "No, he's – " he caught sight of Angela walking in behind me. "He's – uh, with Sam." I pulled out Jacob's chair for Angela, then collapsed into my own and let my head fall into my arms. Billy didn't say anything.

"Can you tell us all those old legends?" I mumbled to the table. "Just start at the beginning."

He was silent for a moment. He had been expecting this day ever since I had confessed my attraction to Angela. He heaved a sigh and began the tale. He addressed Angela. "I suppose this all begins with the tale of the spirit warriors..."

**A/N: So, yeah, not a very long chapter. However, I should start getting them out to you faster again, because I already have the next chapter started. Don't forget to review so that I know who my wonderful readers are, and I can go check out their stories!**

**Ninja C is the awesome beta of this story. Thank her for my lack of grammar mistakes. Plus her stories rock. **


	6. Chapter 11: Returning

**A/N: This chapter does have a slight bit of actual romance in it. I tried to make it work right, but romance really isn't my thing, and my beta has an... aversion to it. So if that part stinks, sorry - I did the best I could.**

**Just a note: This story isn't going to be changing point of view. It hasn't so far, and it won't until the very end. However, there probably WILL be a small, separate oneshot** **from Angela's perspective.**

**Disclaimer #1: I DO own Twilight! I DO! It's sitting on my desk right now! Oh, wait, the rights? Nope. Darn.**

**Disclaimer #2: I don't own Ashton either. Oh well. **

I wanted to listen to Billy's story, but all too soon, I heard a loud bark from outside. I felt the table shake as Angela jumped. Billy ignored it and continued with his story. I grunted into the table. "See ya," I muttered to Billy and Angela, and left the house before Jacob could bark again.

I spotted his red-brown body in the trees before he spun around and raced off when he saw me emerge. I quickly phased and chased after him, but he was faster than me, and far ahead.

_You couldn't have just phased back and come into the house, could you_, I grumbled, no question in my voice. I felt him make a face. If he had been human, I would've called it a cheeky grin.

He joined Jared and Seth, and all three of them waited for me. Seth was getting impatient. I jogged toward them along the boundary line, moving slowly to playfully annoy Seth.

Suddenly a solid wall of scent slammed into me, knocking me senseless. It was cold fire, burning my nose - I hadn't smelled anything as icy and disgusting in days. Jacob, Jared, Seth, and I all raised our hackles instinctively. The scent was fresh – a leech had been here within the last hour.

_I'm following this NOW_, I growled.

_Wait!_ Jacob cautioned. _I recognize the scent. It's Mackenzie._

_Mackenzie? _I asked. _As in, Kenz, the girl you imp__rinted on?_

_Yes. _He had so many conflicting emotions coursing through him, it was making me dizzy. I shook my head vigorously. All three of the others were coming toward me.

_What she's doing here, I have no idea. Seth, go get Sam_, Jacob directed. Seth grumbled sullenly and hurried away, hoping that if he was fast enough, he'd be back in time to catch some action.

Jacob and Jared burst from the trees, and I fell into line. The trail snaked along just on the other side of the vampire-werewolf boundary line, and we followed it just on our side. The scent strengthened, and it was joined by two other scents that I recognized. These were Cullens. Eventually we caught up to them; the biggest one, looking bored, the smallest one, looking annoyed, and the only one there that I had never scented, which I assumed to be Kenz. They were all facing us from across the line, as if they knew we would be coming.

"Well," said the brawny one, his face breaking into a grin. "This is a problem. I don't speak wolf... Though I could bark, if you like." Jared glared at him just as Sam and Seth arrived.

"They probably want to know why we're back," said the tiny one that I had met in the lunchroom.

It was Kenz who answered our unspoken question. "Duty," she told us, her topaz eyes narrowed in dislike. "I came back to protect my parents."

"And we're staying on our turf," the big one added. Sam dipped his head in resigned acknowledgment and faded into the trees, stepping backward as to never take is eyes off the vampires. Jared, Seth, and I followed suit.

Jacob, however, didn't move a muscle. He was – as I'd been trying to ignore the entire time – staring at Kenz. She was totally ignoring him. As the bloodsuckers turned to leave as well, however, he bolted after us, darting past even Sam. His consciousness abruptly disappeared. Instinctively but nervously, we all stopped to wait for him.

_Curse werewolf ears_, I thought, for I could hear exactly what was going on, though I desperately wished not to. The others agreed with me. I started humming in my head, but it did no good.

Jacob, as a human, was striding back to the boundary line. "Wait!" he called across it. It sounded as if all three Cullens stopped, but then the scents of the psychic and Mr. Muscle began to fade.

"What do you want?" Kenz asked coldly.

"Kenz..." Jacob said. She seemed to ignore him. "Kenz, listen..."

_Do you think we should leave? _Seth asked nervously.

_We can't leave him alone so close to bloodsucker territory_, Sam replied miserably.

"...Kenz, please. I - I still love you." She made a scornful sound.

"Save your breath."

"Kenz, listen to me. You don't understand what I'm talking about, about instincts or about imprinting. Your power means you don't feel any anti-werewolf instincts, right? Because I'm a werewolf, I have the 'kill the vampire' instinct. But... I have other instincts too. And right now they're battling with each other, because my human body is telling me 'Kiss Kenz.'" There was a brief pause, then Jacob said sincerely, "You, Kenz, are worth that struggle to me."

Silence.

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I strode into first period right before the bell rang and sat down, refusing to look at the seat next to me. Angela was there for the first time in days; I could tell. I stared intently at the desk. Angela shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She probably thought I was insane, and Billy along with me. Either that, or –

"I believe you," she said quietly, in a quick moment while the teacher was distracted.

Or she was intensely terrified of me. I wasn't sure which was better. I ducked my head even lower in shame.

"Do you hate it?" she asked in a low voice. I looked up in surprise that she was actually having normal conversation with me.

"No," I answered automatically, knowing exactly what she meant. "It's natural for us – me. And it doesn't really matter if I like it or not. That won't affect whether it's true."

She pondered that for a moment. "What does it feel like?"

"Like... like someone put a bomb in the middle of your body," I whispered, "except it doesn't hurt. You sort of fly apart, and then it feels like you hit a wall in the shape of – well, in the shape of a wolf. And you just sort of mold into that shape."

"Why does it happen?"

"I don't really know. It's genetic, and it only gets triggered when vampires are around."

"There are vampires around here, in – " Her eyes suddenly got very wide. "Seattle," she whispered.

I cringed. "Yes. But it was happening before that."

"Before – " she choked.

"Yeah," I mumbled, looking at her with concern. "The Cullens. I mean... it wasn't the Cullens... in Seattle. That's a new group. But the Cullens were the ones who triggered our genetics.

Her eyes widened even farther, and the disbelief on her face was replaced by sudden understanding. She hid her face in her hands as she fully comprehended the world that I had dragged her into – the world that had caused Ben's death.

I checked my watch, and it flashed me the same warning that I had seen on it all that morning – six days had passed. Six days since that newspaper headline that had changed our tactics and Angela's life. Six days since the message from the Volturi – the one telling us that we had one week. We had decided that we would not fight on the defensive. Lost cause though it was, we were not going to be surprised or ambushed, killed like cowering pups. We were attacking tonight.

SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS-SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS-SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS

We crept through the forest, all nine of us. Sam didn't want Seth to come, but Seth had protested so fiercely that Sam relented – after all, La Push was hardly any safer than the trees where we now lurked.

We knew where the bloodsuckers were. There were twenty-four of them. Twenty-four vampires against nine werewolves. Twenty-four skilled and highly trained vampires against nine werewolves who had killed two leeches between them. Four of us had never even fought one.

The odds were grim. All of us were fully expecting to die tonight, although we kept our thoughts on strategy only. But there was no alternative. Five of us had imprinted, and backing out was not an option.

_They will _not _get Angela. They WILL NOT_, I thought to myself fiercely. I heard Sam's, Jared's, and Quil's thoughts echoing mine. There was a chance she could survive. The Volturi didn't know which of us had imprinted, and they didn't know who we had imprinted on. For the sake of being inconspicuous, they couldn't simply slaughter the entire city. _They won't find her_, I assured myself desperately. I had to believe that she would live, even if I wasn't there to protect her.

We were drawing close enough to see them now. They were lined up facing us – there would be no element of surprise in our attack. We fanned out behind Sam like geese, waiting for a thought that would send us bounding forward – to our deaths, no doubt.

A strange, weathered-looking parasite with black hair stepped forward, right up to Sam. Sam drew back his head in disgust but refused to move his paws. A low rumbling filled the air.

"You have a response to our offer?" the leech said cheerfully. I realized I was contributing to the vibrations in the air. Sam glared at the bloodsucker and growled as well. _As if we'd ever let you touch them._

"Ah," the vampire said. "I can see that we are going to have a communication issue." Suddenly his hand flashed out; Sam jumped aside, snapping, but all it did was graze his fur. As though a starting gate had been thrust open, we fell upon the vampires. The one that had spoken called bone-chilling words above the snarling: "Their names are Emily, Kim, Claire, and Angela. Demetri – find them. Angela is the most recent. Kill her first."

**Disclaimer #3: I don't own Kenz either, but I couldn't put this disclaimer at the beginning of the chapter, could I? I have permission from Zukaddy to use her.**

**There are only three more chapters of The Lone Wolf! There will be 14 chapters total, plus Angela's separate piece.**

**The next chapter should be out REALLY fast. It's already written. No, I'm not holding it ransom - it hasn't been typed or through my beta. But, as you may be able to tell, it's a fight scene, and I LIVE for action and fight scenes. So hopefully it'll be a bit better than the feeble proclamations of love you've had to endure these past few chapters. **

**Ninja C is the most awesomely-awesome beta I could ask for.**

**Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go watch some Robert Pattinson awesomeness in Harry Potter 4. Cedric moment, here I come! **


	7. Chapter 12: Battle

**A/N: I'm back! Told you this one would be fast. I would have had this out yesterday, but fanfiction decided it would have a jolly fun time deleting every single line break I've ever used, so I had to go back through every single chapter and re-insert all new line breaks.**

**I've broken 20 reviews! Yay! And speaking of reviews, here are my responses to some.**

**butterfinger45: You don't know what was going through Kenz's head - maybe she was thinking about reluctance. I'm special - I DO know what was going through her head. Am I going to tell you? Nope. You'll have to wait one more chapter for that.**

**Talvana: Yes, I'm aware that the last chapter was cheesy. Didn't I warn you from the beginning that I was not in this for the romance? Well, if not, here you go: I AM NOT IN THIS FOR THE ROMANCE. I wrote that scene once and never looked at it again. And Ninja C refused to look at it too. I am really hoping this chapter will make up for the last one, because it's much better, in my opinion at least.  
**

**Zukaddy: Thanks for the heads-up with the line breaks! Your review was what helped me catch the mistake so early. It's been fixed now, for anyone who was confused last chapter and wants to go reread. And you said I was doing amazing! Hear that, people? THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF THIS STORY SAYS I'M DOING AMAZING! That makes me feel warm and fuzzy!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Italiangurlinamessedupworld and Zukaddy for reviewing every chapter! (Excluding the last one, since it's still new.) You two are awesome! As are all my other reviewers!**

**Disclaimer #1: I don't own any Twilight characters, I just stick them in impossible fights against their mortal enemies.**

**Disclaimer #2: I don't own Ashton either, I just put him in several life-or-death situations. Er, more than several.  
**

**Disclaimer #3: I don't own Kenz either, but I DO know her thoughts, and no one else does. And I'm not telling where she is. XD**

**Warning: This is, potentially, a very scary chapter. Or at least, my beta was, in her words, "screaming and spitting out my macaroni!"**

**Now, on with the longest chapter yet!**

The vampire called Demetri flashed away into the trees. I broke away from the rest of the pack and flew after him, fear fluttering in my stomach like a frantic bird. How did they know? Emily, Kim, Claire, and Angela were all in danger now. The first leech's words echoed in my mind: _kill her first._

I felt the other wolves fighting behind me. Sam had two bloodsuckers coming for him, but Leah rammed one out of the way. Paul was thrashing under the gaze of a leering, sinister young girl before Quil attacked her, and Seth's back left leg had been shattered. Embry was snarling at a huge leech before receiving a blow to the flank. The parasites seemed to know that Sam was the alpha; he was now snapping and snarling, surrounded by three leeches until Jared smashed one into a tree.

I tore after the one named Demetri with his frozen scent in my nostrils, but he was fast and had a head start. My heart was thumping erratically with a combination of adrenaline and overwhelming fear. Demetri was heading towards town – the part of town where Angela lived. How could he know where she was?! It was impossible. I couldn't let him get to her. But we were drawing closer and closer to Forks every second. I estimated that only five miles separated monster from angel, us from Angela. I had less than a minute to catch him, but I was never very athletic... I couldn't catch him. But I had to.

Only three miles... I pushed my paws faster, but I still wasn't quite close enough to jump at the despicable creature.

Two miles... _No, no, no! He won't get there! He can't!_

One mile... My breathing was labored, and my body was screaming at me to stop. I would collapse if I didn't rest soon. But I remembered the terrible crime that Demetri had been commanded to commit, and I couldn't stop. I sprinted toward my angel, though I longed to be rushing away with the vampire at my heels.

Half a mile... There were only seconds left, and he was still too far ahead, and my heart was pumping faster than a hummingbird's wings, so fast I thought maybe _it _would explode, and still I pushed myself even faster, forever faster, and surely I would die within seconds, whether from a vampire's blow or my own overexertion I did not know...

I could see the houses and he was heading right for hers, straight into town, but I galloped after him anyway, knowing I couldn't halt until one of us died.

Abruptly, a huge tree sprung up in front of me, and momentum carried me through it. A sharp, grinding crunch echoed as my left shoulder crashed through the trunk, and suddenly that leg was screaming in agony too, even more than before. I felt several layers of muscle rip and my leg yanked out if its socket.

But still, I had to keep running, even though surely he had reached her while I was recovering from the tree, and drained her blood while she screamed, while she wondered, in the last few seconds of her life, if that was how Ben had died... I had to keep running anyway, even though I was leaving a trail of blood, and each breath felt like my lungs were collapsing, and every step was a stumble, and with each one pain shot up my left foreleg and tore through me like a bullet. And with every beat of my heart, my pain was intensified by that of those that I had left behind to be slaughtered.

I saw a flash of white; he hadn't made it there yet! I tried to push myself harder, but my beaten body wasn't physically capable of anything more. Against my will, my legs slowed; I started sinking toward the ground. _NO! _my mind screamed. _NO! HE CAN'T GET TO HER! ANGELA! THINK OF ANGELA! _Then I saw what had detained the parasite.

I had smashed through the tree with enough force to tear its roots from the ground. It was falling, and the bloodsucker had swerved only slightly to avoid it. It was enough. Staggering upright, I pounced.

The jarring impact scraped my dislocated leg against another bone and ripped open again the skin and sinew that had started to mend. He had avoided me, of course, but now I was between him and the town. I faced him, and at the same time I was looking up as one leech bore down on me, and trying to throw another off my back, and dodging yet another one as it aimed for my throat, as all my packmates were doing.

We stared at each other for a moment; then he was gone, darting between the trees with blinding speed. I leapt at him but missed, and rushed backward to keep my position between him and the city. I was on the defensive, never being able to get too far forward for fear of him getting around me.

I snapped at the blurry white shape again, and my teeth closed on his arm. It was like carrying dry ice in my mouth, burning my tongue with frost, but before I could rip off the limb, his foot connected with my chest. Several of my ribs cracked; I flew away from him and smashed into a tree, but scrambled up again, chanting to myself, _Angela. You have to protect Angela. You have to get up for Angela._

He rammed into me, probably breaking my other shoulder, but I was prepared this time. I twisted and trapped him against a tree with my left side. He stomped, hard, on my left hind foot before freeing a hand, grabbing my tree-maimed leg, and twisting violently. I howled with pain and tried to shake him off, but he kept twisting, and more and more of the sinew was tearing apart. I snapped wildly and managed to connect, ripping off three of his fingers. He released my leg and staggered backward.

By now, my ribs and right shoulder had healed, but I was off balance with both of my left legs injured. He was taking advantage of that, continually attacking my left side to keep my wounds open. Every time I took a clumsy leap at him, he darted around a tree and appeared on the other side of me, and I would experience another heavy attack.

The leeches had chosen their fighting grounds well. We were just as fast as them, but they were smaller, more agile, and could maneuver among the close-growing trees much more easily. I knew that a battle like this was supposed to be instinctual, but all instinct seemed to have abandoned me - I was fighting on desperation alone. I had dulled all my wolfish instincts by caging my other self around the Cullens, and now I was paying for it.

The parasite had rebroken both of my left legs and was now darting away after slamming into my right side. _Must... protect... Angela... _My blood was splattered all over the ground and up some of the trees, and the only damage I had done to him was the few fingers and a rip in his shirt... _Angela... _Everything hurt... _Protect... _

I was exhausted, and I didn't twist away from his next blow fast enough. My paws suddenly weren't underneath me any longer. All the air escaped from my lungs in one sharp huff as I landed on my back, and I tasted blood. I tried feebly to rise, but a foot slammed down on my side, holding me prisoner against the ground. _No... Angela... He can't... get... Angela... No... _The leech was above me, baring his teeth, and as I looked at him I heard the thoughts of the other wolves and knew I wasn't the only one on the ground... _Not Angela... _The icy scent was everywhere... _No... _There was a flash of white and red, the colors of vampire and blood...

I braced myself, but the weight disappeared from my side. I staggered upright. We had been joined by one vampire and one werewolf – Jacob. I sniffed the air to identify the new vampire. It was Kenz. Together they were attacking Demetri, who was looking surprised but holding his own. I lurched over to join in the fight, but Demetri, seeing the uneven numbers, took off back toward the big battle. All three of us bounded after him, me rather awkwardly to compensate for my injuries.

_You okay? _Jacob asked.

_Sort of. _My right foreleg was beginning to heal. He looked sideways at me, and I caught a glimpse of myself through his eyes. My usually off-white and tan fur was soaked through with blood, making me look like an evil, bloodthirsty ghost.

But even though Angela and the others were temporarily out of danger, we still had little chance of surviving. This was not a classic match-in-the-clearing battle that was sometimes at the end of books. We were fighting in full-fledged forest, trees growing close enough together that we had to be careful not to run into them. _Oops._ And the vampires didn't need oxygen. They, quite literally, could not get tired, still at one hundred percent energy. I saw their strategy now – they weren't even fighting to their fullest, only wearing us down until we were as easily disposed of as an irksome mosquito.

Paul and Quil were just as injured as I was. Sam had three leeches on him at once. Embry and Leah were back to back, snarling at the four bloodsuckers surrounding them, and I couldn't hear Jared or Seth at all. I couldn't really tell what was going on very well – everyone was too focused on their own opponents. But finally, we arrived at the gruesome scene and I saw the action for myself.

Sam was cornered against a tree, seven parasites advancing on him from different sides. The tiny girl was now smiling sinisterly at Leah, who was on the ground shrieking in a wolf's voice. Quil was barely avoiding being bitten by another four of them, growing more and more sluggish by the second. Embry had an immense gash on his hindquarters and was losing blood swiftly, while trying to fight three at the same time – it was clear that he was not going to remain conscious for much longer. Jared's unmoving, dark brown fur was visible behind Paul, who was defending him viciously but gruelingly against another four. Yet another vampire was baring her teeth above Seth, who was lying on the ground between two trees, unconscious or...

The most infuriating fact was that five of them were standing among the fighters, just standing and watching, occasionally leaning around trunks to get a better look, as if watching my pack brothers get torn apart was some kind of daily amusement. But I had no time to growl at them - I vaulted myself at the leech above Seth.

My teeth made contact with her shoulder, but I couldn't get a good enough grip before my momentum carried me past her. Most of my injuries had healed, so I landed on all four paws, turned, and threw myself at her again. She darted out of the way, and I hit the tree she had been standing in front of. I felt her brush past my tail; I whirled around, snapping, but she wasn't there.

Suddenly, she slammed her entire body into the side of my head, timing it exactly right so that the speed of my spin brought me right to her. Stars erupted in my vision, and the whole world reeled dangerously.

She seemed to be everywhere at once. Or rather, everywhere except where my teeth were. I whipped around and chased her around trees, swinging my head and snapping my jaws, but she was never where I expected her to be. It was as if she wasn't even there, like I was fighting no one but expecting an enemy to jump out of the air... Except every few seconds, I would catch a glimpse of her inching toward Seth's unmoving body again.

There was no doubt about it; she was not as strong as Demetri, but she was smarter and much, much faster. Like the leeches that were just teasing us, wearing us down before moving in for the easy kill, she was confusing me – and very effectively. She had obviously learned our instincts and was using them against me. My size, too, she was taking advantage of; running around so rapidly that I had no chance of twisting around quickly enough to catch her.

I realized that my earlier assumption about instinct had been incorrect. I had smothered enough of my impulses that they were useless in a normal fight, but this vampire was fighting with a style specifically designed to arouse wolflike tendencies: she intentionally and repeatedly wafted her scent under my nose and allowed me to spot her unnaturally white skin before employing her speed and disappearing again.

I felt her behind me once more, and pitted my mind against all the instinct I possessed. It took a lot of willpower to launch myself forward instead of pivoting around and grabbing with my teeth, but I was rewarded. There was a harsh, grating, crunching sound as I seized part of her hand and yanked. She stopped for a split second, an expression of shock and fury on her face, and then she was off again, even faster and more deadly than before.

Now that I had figured out how to thwart her strategy (although it was still succeeding more than half the time), she wasn't withholding her attacks. Like a cobra, she was impossibly fast, striking again and again. Sharp, jabbing pains erupted all over my body, one after another. I was exhausted, and she was preparing to take me down.

"Knock them out!" someone called. Involuntarily, I turned to see who it was. Kenz was standing beside the black-haired bloodsucker, the one who had spoken when we first approached. "Don't kill them _yet_," he called. "Our young friend here wishes to speak."

The female I was fighting took advantage of my distraction. She rolled under my belly and kicked out with both feet. I flew through the air, all traces of oxygen gone from my lungs, but I hadn't even started to recover before I slammed onto my back, the impact leaving me breathless. One thought sprinted through my mind: _If I play dead, she'll think I'm unconscious. _Utterly spent, I let my eyelids drift close.

**A/N: So, was it scary enough? Action-y?  
**

**Unfortunately, I may be leaving on vacation next week, and I'm not sure if I'll have computer access or not. So, the next chapter may take a little longer.**

**Vote in my new poll! I just want to know what you think of the last two chapters.**

**Ninja C is the awesomest beta ever, except with romance. Then... well, it's even worse than me.  
**

**REVIEW! How did I do with action? Did it actually seem like Ash was in danger? Or did it totally stink? Tell me!**


	8. Chapter 13: Discussion

**A/N: 30 reviews! Thank you so much for all the supportive reviews I got for last chapter! That was my favorite chapter. Everyone needs to thank Italiangurlinamessedupworld, because her threat to PM me every day if I didn't update soon is what got this chapter out so fast - at least a week earlier than it would have been otherwise.**

**butterfinger45: Ash is just playing dead/unconscious at the end of last chapter, because he knows that he will get knocked out eventually. He wants to hear what they're talking about.**

**Disclaimer #1: I am not Stephenie Meyer, no money is being made off this work, blah blah blah...**

**Disclaimer #2: Insert some clever way of saying I don't own Ashton.**

**Disclaimer #3: Same goes for Kenz.**

I made my breathing slow and deep to appear as if I had been knocked out, and listened in my head. I couldn't hear any of the other wolves. Presumably, they were unconscious... or worse.

I was the only conscious werewolf in the forest, but it seemed to me that a voice that was not my own was playing in my head anyway. It was an echo, a repetition of the black-haired leech's words. _Our little friend here wishes to speak... Our little friend here... our little friend...  
_  
I opened my eyes slightly to glare at Kenz. If she was the _little friend_ of the Volturi, then she was my enemy, no matter what Jacob thought of her. Probably she had struck some kind of deal with them, trying to get revenge on us. As if it was _our_ fault Jacob had imprinted on her and unintentionally dragged her into our chaotic world.

Because she wasn't really tied to us, her actions couldn't be considered 'betrayal,' but the word still hit me like a low blow to the stomach. That bloodsucker had helped save me from Demetri, and for what? So I could be lured here for slaughter instead? So they could kill us all at once, and count the bodies?

Hopelessness engulfed me. Why was life being so unfair? Surely by now we should have either heroically fought and won the battle, the classic fairy tale ending, or been killed by parasites. Why did fate keep hanging us in the balance, knowing our fate but doomed never to reach it? A new obstacle was thrown at us at every turn - how many more could there be? Was the agonizing waiting, the new problem, the odds stacking up higher and higher against us, going to go on forever?

All of the vampires were loosely converged around Kenz, so I wasn't under too much scrutiny. She seemed to be waiting for something. Most of the other leeches were in perfect condition, none of them seriously injured. The air reeked.

My nose was suddenly granted a reprieve from the icy onslaught by a warm, woody scent. My nose told me that a werewolf was coming, but I couldn't hear anything in my head. I squinted at the newcomer... Jacob.

He had several gashes on his body, but he walked upright, tensing when he got too close to a vampire. They let him pass with wrinkled noses. His fists were clenched to keep them from shuddering, but he refused to look around, always walking straight forward. He didn't stop until he reached the black-haired bloodsucker and Kenz, who were standing side by side.

_Jacob's a traitor, too! _

_But we would've heard something in his thoughts! _

_Not if he was really good at controlling them. _

_No one's_ that _good. _

_Maybe the leeches taught him. _

_But he hates leeches! _

_He sure looks okay with them now. _

_But Jacob is my cousin! I trust him! _

_Trust doesn't stop him from running after Kenz. Maybe she was the bait to make him agree. _

_Or maybe he's trying to rescue her! _

_He's going to have problems with that without claws or teeth. She lured him away. He's one of them now.  
_  
I silenced the solitary argument that was taking place in my head as someone began to speak.

"Why are you doing this?" Kenz demanded. _Did not everything go along with her perfect plan?_ I thought venomously_. Is she not ready to let us die yet? She wants to torture us for a bit longer?_ My fury was making it difficult to stay still and silent.

"Our secret was threatened. We came to protect it," the detested bloodsucker with black hair replied to Kenz cheerfully.

"The secret was never threatened," Jacob spat.

The parasite raised his eyebrows. "Humans were aware of our presence. That is against our laws."

"I don't give a - "

Kenz interrupted him. "There was never any danger of outside humans deducing the truth."

I was confused now. Kenz was defending _our_ side of the argument...

"Outside? As in, not part of this little circle of... what do you call it... imprinting?"

"Yes," Jacob replied through gritted teeth. "The people we imprint on basically join us. They won't give us away."

"Because of this so-called 'bond.' And why should I believe that this 'love' is strong enough to keep a mere human from exposing us?"

"Look at us," Kenz said. "Jacob and me. I am a vampire. He is a werewolf. Jacob imprinted on me. Days later, I was bitten. But here we stand anyway. Because imprinting is strong enough to traverse the barrier between vampire and werewolf. My natural enemy... and my only love."

_Kenz... is on our side?_

"And that, my dear Makenzie," said that evil Volturi member, as perky as ever, "is due to that magnificent ability of yours. You have almost no vampiric instincts, correct?"

"And that would be an excellent rebuttal," Jacob growled, "if I didn't feel bound to remind you that _I_ imprinted. I initiated our relationship, even if it was unintentional. I have no anti-instinct that prevents me from hating vampires... And I swear that the only thing stopping me from ripping you apart right now is Kenz."

The leech glanced back and forth between them, and for the first time, the grin had faded from his place.

"If the bond created by imprinting is strong enough to overcome the animosity between vampire and werewolf," Kenz whispered, although everyone could hear her perfectly, "surely it is enough for humans to protect our supernatural secret."

Everything was silent for a split second; then that hated smile was back upon his face. "Indeed! What an interesting story this will make! You've proven your point well, young ones." Several of the faces around him looked sour, but they did not question him. Within seconds, all twenty-four of them were gone.

I let out my breath loudly and closed my eyes. I heard Jacob's exclamation of surprise as he realised I was conscious, but I ignored him. It was over. Angela was safe; I was alive.

But what about the rest of my pack? Had they all survived the encounter? I staggered to my feet. Neither Jared nor Seth had been mobile when we had reached the clearing... I tripped toward Seth, who was nearest to me, only twenty feet away. I didn't see any movement at all, no breathing. In a panic, I sprinted the last five feet. _No no no no no no no...  
_  
To my relief, I saw that he was, in fact, breathing, just shallowly. I looked up and saw that Jacob and Kenz were checking the rest of the pack. Sam was beginning to stir. "All clear," Jacob called, relief prominent on his features.

I made a grateful face at him and Kenz, not being able to speak as a wolf. Correctly interpreting my expression, he translated for Kenz, "Ash says thanks." I nodded once, then sank toward the ground, finally, finally slipping into true unconsciousness.

**A/N: We're not done yet! There's still one more chapter!**

**So you still want to know about Kenz in chapter 11? Well, here's a little excerpt:**

"Kenz, listen to me. You don't understand what I'm talking about, about instincts or about imprinting. Your power means you don't feel any anti-werewolf instincts, right? Because I'm a werewolf, I have the 'kill the vampire' instinct. But... I have other instincts too. And right now they're battling with each other, because my human body is telling me 'Kiss Kenz.'" There was a brief pause, then Jacob said sincerely, "You, Kenz, are worth that struggle to me."

Silence.

**Ok, that silence? ...He kissed her.**

**Ninja C is the greatest beta on Earth. Maybe I should investigate a beta from Mars...**


	9. Chapter 14: Healing

**A/N: And here, finally, is the final chapter of The Lone Wolf. I'm crazy happy at the moment because I just got my copy of Twilight back after an eight-month loan-away! I'm never lending it to anyone again. And I'm having trouble typing with one hand, because I refuse to let go of it.  
**

**Again, you have Italiangurlinamessedupworld to thank for speedy delivery. Also, major thanks to Ninja C, my :slightly: eccentric beta without whom this story would be... bad. Not good. Totally stinky. Like old cheese. Also, thanks to butterfinger45 and Talvana for helping me out with my crazy writer's block this chapter.  
**

**This chapter is dedicated to Zukaddy, xedwardxxloverx, jacob black is my hottie, HelloSexy, butterfinger45, Italiangurlinamessedupworld, angelpinkgal, xJAYx, Talvana, bellandjacob, Fluffy Otters, and, of course, Ninja C. I have looked through every one of your stories; each one of you guys rocks. You are the awesome people who reviewed, alerted, favorited (or betad) this story. Several times, I was going to give up on this and delete it because I didn't think it was that good. Without every one of you, The Lone Wolf would not be here. You have all saved this story.  
**

**Disclaimer #1: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight in all its glory.**

**Disclaimer #2: Zukaddy is the proud owner of her very own Ashton. I think mine got lost in the mail.  
**

**Disclaimer #3: To order your very own Kenz, call 1-800-555-5555. Perhaps you'll have better luck gaining the rights from Zukaddy than I did.**

"Ash? Ashton?"

I almost surfaced, but then I sank into blackness again.

"Ash, You've got to shift back or you won't fit into the house."

My eyes fluttered open. Sam was squatting near my head, his eyelids drooping and his hair matted by the rain falling around us. We were in front of Jacob's house. Jake was standing behind Sam, looking almost as tired and beat up. Billy was in the doorway, unable to maneuver his wheelchair into the grass.

"Come on. Get up and phase, and then you can lie down in the house."

I pushed my front paws under me and heaved myself upward. I towered over Sam and Jake, shaking like a frightened animal, the rain streaming through my fur. I steadied myself and limped into the trees.

Just walking was hard. I leaned against a tree while I took some deep calming breaths and concentrated on phasing. I did so quickly, my exhaustion leading me back toward humanity, and clumsily untied my shorts from my leg with just my right hand. They were extremely tattered from the fight, but I pulled them on anyway. I tried to use my left hand to help, but since my shoulder was completely dislocated, it couldn't finish healing properly, and my hand was useless.

I tottered back toward the house. Sam and Jacob were gone. Billy ushered me into the house, where Jacob was sprawled on the floor, snoring. I tripped on the edge of the rug and caught myself with my left hand on the couch. I stifled a small gasp of pain and sank down next to the couch, leaning against it with my eyes closed.

"Dr. Cullen's coming over for your arm," said Billy, sounding relieved that we were alive. I opened one eye at the name 'Cullen'. "Sorry," Billy said, "but Dr. Banbury – the Quileute doctor – is away, and your temperature would scare a normal doctor." I closed my eye.

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. "Come in," Billy called, wheeling uneasily into the kitchen. The door opened; I tensed at the scent. Jacob woke with a start and jumped to his feet, swaying.

"Sorry," Dr. Cullen apologized as he shut the door. Jacob surveyed him for a moment before deciding it was safe to collapse into a chair. "I'm going to try and do this quickly for you," Dr. Cullen said to me as he drew closer. I breathed through my mouth, eying him warily, and got to my feet slowly. I didn't like having to look up in order to see him. He began examining my left arm, being careful not to touch my skin. I shut my eyes and tried to ignore him. It didn't work.

"How exactly did this happen? It might help determine the nature of the break."

"I ran into a tree," I mumbled sheepishly. _Even with twenty-four of the most powerful leeches in the world intent on killing us, my worst injury comes from a tree. _"It was rebroken a lot, but I think most of that has healed by now."

"Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to snap this back into place. Will you be okay if I touch you? It will only be for a split second." I nodded tersely, clenching my teeth.

He firmly braced his hand on top of my shoulder and quickly snapped my shoulder back into its socket. I flinched at the spasm of pain that shot down my arm and at his hands, which burned my overheated skin like ice. He released me and retreated immediately. I relaxed slightly.

"You'll need to wear this for a little while, probably only a day or so with your healing rate."

A piece of stiff, dark blue cloth flew into my lap; picking it up, I realized it was a sling. I grumbled, but pulled it on anyway.

"And you have no serious injuries?" Dr. Cullen addressed Jacob, his hand on the doorknob.

"Nope."

"Alright then. I'm off."

I watched him walk out the door, then fell onto the couch and into sleep.

SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS-SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS-SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS

I lifted my head from the couch and looked at the kitchen clock with bleary eyes. I had been asleep for almost twenty-four solid hours, and I was _still_ tired. I had used even more energy fighting than I thought. My head dropped back onto the couch; my feet hung off of the other end.

Jacob was lying with his stomach to the floor, his face turned toward me and his mouth slightly open, sleeping. He must have fallen off the chair. His clothes were tattered like mine, but his body looked healed.

A soft knock came from the door. Wondering if Dr. Cullen would return for something, I called hoarsely, "Come in."

The door opened, and Angela walked into the house. My heart swelled at the sight of her, at the visual confirmation that she was indeed safe. She stopped short on the threshold, taking in the rug that was Jacob and the couch pillow that was me. "Well..." she said uncertainly. "I _did _come here to ask you something, but now I have a new question. What have you been _doing_?"

I sat up. "I'm fine." I suddenly became aware that I was still wearing the sling; I yanked it off and tossed it across the room. It landed on the half of Jacob's face that was turned upward, where it fluttered in time with his breathing. Angela stared at it for a moment, then returned her gaze to me.

"No, you're not. You're all beat up, both of you. What happened?"

"Only my clothes are beat up." Wishing to avoid the subject, I said, "What did you come here to ask me?"

She looked doubtful, but understood the change of subject and didn't press it. She skirted Jacob's feet and lowered herself into his vacated chair. "Well... I - I wanted to know... why you told me. Why do I get to know?"

I grimaced. She didn't have to elaborate for me to know what she was talking about, and this subject wasn't any better than the previous one. "There are a couple people who know," I said evasively. "Bella, for one."

"But Bella's... involved."

I said nothing.

"I talked to Bella yesterday."

Silence.

"She said... she said you imprinted on me."

I stiffened.

"What's 'imprinted' mean?"

I looked at her incredulously. She just appeared curious. "Bella didn't tell you?"

"She said you should tell me."

I felt a rush of emotion for Bella, a strange mix of annoyance and gratitude. Annoyance that Bella hadn't told Angela and gotten it over with. Gratitude because she was right; it was _my _responsibility.

"If you don't want to tell me, that's okay."

"Nah," I sighed. "I was going to tell you anyway." She waited expectantly. "It's one of those bizarre things we have to deal with. It doesn't happen to everyone. We used to think it was the rare exception, not the rule, but it's getting more common than we thought.

"Okay, you know... the 'love at first sight' idea?" I flopped onto my back and stared at the ceiling. "It's sort of like that, but more powerful. More absolute. It's not easy to explain – it's so hard to describe. It's not like love at first sight, really. It's more like... gravity. You become whatever that person needs you to be, whether that's a protector, or a brother, or a friend. And then, you can tell them everything."

Angela made a strangled sort of sound in the back of her throat. I turned my head to look at her. Her eyes were huge, her mouth half open. "Let's not talk about this right now," I pleaded. "Wasn't there something else you wanted to ask me?"

Angela took several shallow breaths. "Yeah," she gasped. "How – you got – so – beat up."

"Oh." I frowned and, after determining that she was recovering from hyperventilation, turned back toward that ceiling. "Actually, that's sort of related. It's a long story, though." I glanced at her briefly before continuing. "Let's see... the beginning." Was that only... _two weeks ago?! _How drastically my life had changed in such a short span of time.

"I first came here to ask Billy about werewolves. I had shifted once when I lived in Texas, and I wanted to know more about what was going on. He told me the same stories he told you. Then, of course, you and Bella and Charlie came over the very same night. Imprinting happens the first time you ever see someone after you change." I left the topic of imprinting as quickly as I could.

"I had to go to Forks High instead of the Quileute school because we weren't sure how long I'd be staying. Jacob had forgotten that bl- that Edward and Alice went there, too. I can tell you, the first couple days hanging around them weren't fun.

"Anyway, when I got home that day, I met the pack and they accepted me as a member. But not until after Sam told me about the problems they were having. You remember when the Cullens left for a while last year? While they were gone, two vampires came through looking for Bella. I don't know the details. They've both been killed.

"One of those two had a mate, though. She was friends with the Cullens and, after they came back, they wouldn't let her come after us. We have a treaty with the Cullens. Anyway, she wasn't gonna give up that easily, and she went to the Volturi.

"The Volturi are sort of like vampire royalty. They're really powerful, and they're in charge of making sure no one exposes them. The leech that wanted revenge came up with an excuse for them to come after us. She told them that people here knew about vampires and werewolves, because we tell the people we imprint on. They threatened us – told us that either we would kill everyone who knew, or they would do it for us.

"Of course we refused. So they started moving against us, across the United States – they're from Italy. We were preparing for an all-out war. And then... they made sure we knew they were here. They hunted in Seattle."

Angela inhaled sharply through her nose, her eyes screwed shut. She knew what I meant.

"The Cullens asked them not to hunt in their 'territory,' so the Volturi backed off. 'One week,' they told us. And then the Cullens came back. We were bewildered as to why they returned – they left for Bella's safety – so we tracked them down. Kenz was with them."

"Kenz?" Jacob shouted suddenly, his head jerking up. The sling slid off his face. Angela and I both jumped at the abrupt interruption of his soft snores. He was staring around, as if looking for something.

"She's not here, Jake," I said, rolling my eyes. "Angela and I are just talking. Go back to sleep."

"Oh. Right." He let his head fall back onto the floor and let out a snore.

"_Anyway,_" I said. "Jacob imprinted on Kenz last year, but then she was bitten. Apparently she joined the Cullens, but she didn't go out much because the whole human population thought she was dead. They came back because Kenz wanted to protect her parents, and Jacob and Kenz made up. They were really in love, even though Jake's instincts made him want to kill her. But even though the Cullens were here, they couldn't keep the Volturi from coming after us.

"We attacked them last night to keep them from hurting anyone else. There was no way we were going to win – there were twenty-four of them and nine of us, and four of us had never even fought a vampire. But we didn't think they'd be able to find the people we imprinted on – there's Emily, Kim, Claire, and you. And Kenz of course, but she doesn't really count since she was never in danger."

I didn't realize that I had started to whisper. "We were losing. Badly. They were just playing with us. Seth and Jared were both unconscious, and the rest of us were pretty close. Then Kenz – she joined the fight with Jacob – was trying to talk to them, and they knocked us all out so that they could listen to her. Except I played dead, so I heard the conversation. Kenz – and Jacob; she wouldn't let them knock him out - convinced them that since imprinting was strong enough to overcome the vampire-werewolf rivalry, it was strong enough to keep humans from giving us away."

"So..." Angela said slowly. "There were a bunch of – vampires – out to kill me and some other people. So you and your pack went and fought them and nearly got yourselves killed, _and you didn't tell me?_" I ducked my head in shame. She was furious at me for not telling her everything, keeping her in the dark. "Ash, you can't fight a war because of _me_! You can't just go risk your life like that! I don't want to be the reason you wind up dead! You said yourself you didn't think they could find us!

"But they can!" I insisted. "_Then_ I didn't think so, but this one – Demetri – knew right where you were! He even had orders to kill you first!"

She paled, but her voice was steady. "Then why aren't I dead?"

"I - I ran after him. Got attacked by a tree on the way." I rolled my eyes at the sling on the floor.

"_You_ ran after him? You fought him?"

"I – well, yeah. Didn't kill him, though. Actually, he almost had me, but Jacob and Kenz got there just in time.

She seemed to be still contemplating the fact that _I_ had stopped the vampire commanded to kill her.

"Still, Ash. _Still._ Why do you have to go out and fight?"

"It's part of who I am – who we all are. It's born into us. We're made to protect people from them.

"But... other than that. How can I hang around you knowing you _imprinted_?"

"I'm fine. I've been hanging around you for the past two weeks, haven't I?"

"But if that's how you're _feeling_ the whole time..."

I grinned softly. "Don't worry, Angela. Remember what I said? _A protector, or a brother, or a friend. _Whatever it is you need... I'm right here."

**A/N: And on that slightly cheesy note this story ends.**

_**-IMPORTANT!-**_** Although this story is now labeled complete, THERE WILL BE ONE MORE CHAPTER. IT WILL BE AN AUTHOR'S NOTE CHAPTER. It will announce that Angela's Oneshot has been completed and posted; that way you all don't have to Author Alert me if you want to read it. It will be up for ONE WEEK and ONE WEEK ONLY. -Edit 10/19/08- Angela's Oneshot was posted under the name 'Garlic or Something.' Only the announcement was deleted after a week; the story is still available to read.  
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**Anyway, I'm curious as to something: How different is this story than the original ending planned by Zukaddy? Perhaps Zukaddy would be willing to give us insight into how my Lone Wolf differs from hers. ****Hint, hint. If so, that information will also be posted in the A/N chapter. **

**All previous chapters of The Lone Wolf have been edited for grammar and typo mistakes.**

**There was an altered Eclipse quote in this chapter - those things save my rear. Did you catch it?**

**About Jacob: I am not a Jacob fan - Edward/Bella all the way! But if he's not mooning after Bella, I've found he's an okay guy. I thought he deserved his own happy ending. I hope I appeased any Jake-lovers.  
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**Look out for me in other genres. ****I have attempted at romance: some of you have enjoyed the results. ****This is my goodbye to the world of romantic fanfiction.  
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**REVIEW! It's your last chance to question/****murder/****praise/flame me, and your last chance to identify yourself as a reader of this story! Take advantage of it!**


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